Cities, counties gearing up fight for more highway money

ATLANTA -- In 1978, the General Assembly set aside a pot of money to help cities and counties maintain their streets and thoroughfares and jump-started it with $52 million.

In the 24 budget years since, while the costs of materials and worker wages needed to pave roads have risen with inflation, the state's appropriation to the Local Assistance Road Program has only exceeded that initial investment once, when LARP received $55 million in 1981.

And during three of the past four years, as local governments' wish list of needed projects has grown larger, LARP funding has declined. The $29.1 million allocated this year -- just 56 percent of the 1978 funding -- was $3 million more than last year only because the General Assembly kicked in the money during its review of Gov. Roy Barnes' budget request.

''The arrows are pointing in the wrong direction,'' said state Transportation Commissioner Tom Coleman.

But help could be on the way. Rep. Ralph Twiggs, chairman of the House Transportation Committee, is pushing to commit more of the state's 7.5-cents-per-gallon motor-fuels tax to LARP.

''If we could just take one of those cents and ... put it all in the LARP program, it would help those counties tremendously,'' said Twiggs, D-Hiawassee.

Coleman traces LARP's money problems back to 1990, when the state stopped funding the program through the general budget and began relying exclusively on the gas tax.

The state Department of Transportation has several uses for that money that get higher priority than LARP, including running the department, matching federal funds for various projects and helping counties with new highway and bridge construction.

''When we come to LARP, there's just not a lot left,'' said Althea McCoy, point person on transportation issues for the Association County Commission-ers of Georgia.

While Twiggs is unsure whether his idea of dedicating 1 cent of the motor-fuels tax to LARP will fly in the legislature, it may represent the program's best hope for the foreseeable future.

LARP supporters also aren't likely to find any money in the general budget in today's tight economy, though.

''(LARP) is a popular program with city and county governments and with the people,'' said Sen. George Hooks, D-Americus, chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee and one of LARP's strongest advocates in the legislature. ''But this isn't the time to initiate new programs or look for a big expansion of existing programs.''